Investors who operate.
Forward Invest provides capital and operational support to founder-led technology companies, and acquires small and mid-sized businesses in software, AI and cybersecurity, serving defence, energy and industry. We have built, run and sold technology companies ourselves.
Capital, plus the people
who have done it.
Most small software companies in Italy are too small for private equity and never fitted venture capital. They are profitable, they matter to their customers, and their founders are on their own. That is where we work.
We invest
We provide capital and operational support to founder-led technology companies. Tickets up to €100K, a minority stake, and a team that has run companies like yours working alongside you.
We acquire
We buy small and mid-sized businesses in software, AI and cybersecurity, serving defence, energy and industry, in full or step by step. Founders can stay, step back over time, or hand over. The brand, the team and the customers stay.
We operate
Behind every service sits one operating team working across every company in the group: finance, technology, AI and go-to-market. Each company keeps its own identity and gains capabilities it could not afford alone.
Investors who have built, run and
sold technology companies.
€100M+
in exits across the team
120 GW
of renewable energy monitored by BaxEnergy, founded by Simone Massaro
Forward Invest was started by Simone Massaro, a software engineer who founded BaxEnergy and grew it into a global leader in renewable energy software before its sale to Yokogawa. Around him sit finance executives from General Electric, AI and industrial control engineers, and an advisory board drawn from audit, the Italian Navy, the Italian Air Force and NATO.
Across the team: €100M+ in exits and multi-billion-dollar deal closures. We are based in Rome.
Founder-led
You founded a software, AI or cybersecurity company, and you still lead it.
Profitable
€500K or more in revenue, and the business makes money.
Critical to customers
They renew because the product is part of how they work.
Built to build on
The technology is modern enough to grow.
Europe, Italy first
We start at home and go where the right companies are.
Open to a partner
You want more than a cheque: people who have run a company like yours.
What we stand for.
Six principles. We write them down so we cannot drift from them.
Operators first
We ran software companies before we invested in them.
Clarity
Defined steps, written offers. You always know where you stand.
Speed
Decision-makers sit at the table from the first meeting.
Flexibility
Full sale, gradual transition or minority stake. The structure follows your goals.
Discipline
Profitable growth and sound unit economics. We focus on fundamentals that last.
Continuity
Team, brand and customers stay at the centre of the company.
Whether that means selling today, years from now,
or simply finding the right long-term owner,
we’re always happy to start a conversation.